James Legge

James Legge
Missionary to China
Born	(1815-12-20)20 December 1815 Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Died	29 November 1897(1897-11-29) (aged 81) Oxford, England
Alma mater	King's College, Aberdeen
Chinese name
Chinese	理雅各
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Lǐ Yǎgè Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Léih Ngáah-gok

James Legge (/lɛɡ/; 20 December 1815 – 29 November 1897) was a Scottish sinologist, missionary, and scholar, best known as an early and prolific translator of Classical Chinese texts into English. Legge served as a representative of the London Missionary Society in Malacca and Hong Kong (1840–1873) and was the first Professor of Chinese at Oxford University (1876–1897). In association with Max Müller he prepared the monumental Sacred Books of the East series, published in 50 volumes between 1879 and 1891.

James Legge was born at Huntly, Aberdeenshire. He enrolled in Aberdeen Grammar School at age 13 and then King's College, Aberdeen at age 15. After studying at the Highbury Theological College, London, he went in 1839 as a missionary to China, but remained at Malacca three years, in charge of the Anglo-Chinese College there. The College was subsequently moved to Hong Kong, where Legge lived for nearly thirty years. A Chinese Christian, Wat Ngong, accompanied Legge when he moved in 1844. He returned home to Huntly, Aberdeenshire, in 1846–7, taking with him three Chinese students. Legge and the students were received by Queen Victoria before his return to Hong Kong.

Legge married twice, first to Mary Isabella Morison (1816–1852) and after she died to a widow, Hannah Mary Willetts (d 1881, née Johnstone).